1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to curved railing systems and particularly to curved railing systems that use segmented infill panels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many buildings have decks, porches and balconies (note the works “deck” herein shall include to decks, porches, and balconies) added to them. They provide useful outdoor space and add value to the building from both a utility perspective as well as an aesthetic perspective. One of the more aesthetically pleasing balcony configurations are those that contain one or more radiused or curved sides. While aesthetically pleasing, however, balconies with curved sides can present difficult challenges for those designing and installing the associated railing system.
Railing systems are used to provide safety on an elevated deck, as well as providing an aesthetically pleasing element of the overall design. The problem with curved railings is obtaining infill panels (such as glass) that match the curve. Curved glass is expensive. Moreover, fitting the segmented top rail to the construction adds labor cost because the top rail must be custom fitted in the field by making precise miter cuts to join the top rail segments together. It requires considerable skill on the part of the installer to make multiple precision miter cuts. Otherwise, the entire appearance of the railing will be negatively impacted. Because curved railing involve considerably higher costs and require a higher level of skilled labor to install, they are generally limited to high budget projects. Moreover, the use of curved decks is also limited for the same reason.